Not Just For Coffee Anymore: The Rise Of Caffeinated Foods
I’m never gonna get used to the 21st century. Caffeinated bacon? Baconated grapefruit? Admiral Crunch? Archduke Chocula?
Dec 182012
Dec 182012
Patented Book Writing System Creates, Sells Hundreds Of Thousands Of Books On Amazon
Now these books aren’t your typical reading material. Common categories include specialized technical and business reports, language dictionaries bearing the “Webster’s” moniker (which is in the public domain), rare disease overviews, and even crossword puzzle books for learning foreign languages, but they all have the same thing in common: they are automatically generated by software.
And then…
So, what’s the next book genre Parker is targeting to have software produce? Romance novels.
Huh.
I’ve long heard people say that in Star Trek-like futures where robots and other technologies have “freed” mankind from drudge-work, people will devote their time to music and art and philosophy and crap like that. Well… it seems that well before robots replace people for most manual labor jobs, they’ll start replacing the writers. And then the painters. And the article linked above points out that a system is being worked on that will replace human newsreaders with CG versions, which means actors won’t be needed for much longer.
So, a world where humans have all our physical needs met, and have nothing to do or contribute. Awesome.
Dec 182012
Norway Begins Four Year Test Of Thorium Nuclear Reactor
A Norwegian company is breaking with convention and switching to an alternative energy it hopes will be safer, cleaner and more efficient. But this isn’t about ditching fossil fuels, but rather about making the switch from uranium to thorium. Oslo based Thor Energy is pairing up with the Norwegian government and US-based (but Japanese/Toshiba owned) Westinghouse to begin a four year test that they hope will dispel doubts and make thorium the rule rather than the exception. The thorium will run at a government reactor in Halden.
The advantages of Thorium in nuclear reactors may be sometimes overstated… but *any* new reactor development is a wonderful thing.
Dec 182012
Guy busts into movie theater, starts shooting people. How to deal with the situation? Easy: shoot him.
Dec 182012
Remember that rocket North Korea launched a few days ago? Seems the South Korean Navy scooped the first stage out of the ocean. Finders keepers!
Photo of the Day: Dec. 14, 2012 (North Korean Missile Wreckage Edition)
Some really spiffy photos at the links.
Dec 162012
Two years ago I posted this:
F-102 + Bombshell
The model in the photo was unknown to me. A number of guesses were made; commenter “Parabarbarian” guessed that it was Barbara Lang. Thanks to Mark Nankivil, links to further photos from this series were brought to my attention… and now yours.
‘Pin Up’ Barbara Lang and 327th Fighter Interceptor Squadron F-102, 1957 (Part 2)
Here’s “part one,” which is just a rehash of the photos I original posted. Without a link back. Hrrrmph. That’s why I put little “up-ship.com/blog” watermarks on a lot of the stuff I post.
‘Pin Up’ Barbara Lang? and 327th Fighter Interceptor Squadron F-102, 1957
Dec 162012
As previously mentioned, the Strategic Air & Space Museums Avro Vulcan bomber is outside temporarily. Apart from some fading paint it seems to overall be in fairly good shape.
Aircraft like this should be stored indoors… and displayed outdoors. When I make my billions (aaaaaannnnny day now), my aircraft museum will feature wondrously restored shiny planes kept within storm and earthquake proof hangars… that on good sunny days can roll well back and expose the planes to the sky.
Dec 162012
Previously shown but not understood HERE, in 1961 GE proposed modifying a B-52G to serve as a testbed for a single XNJ140E-1 nuclear turbojet. The very large engine would be contained in a nacelle attached to the port rear fuselage. With eight conventional J57 chemical turbojets, the testbed aircraft would be capable of putting the engine through the altitude and airspeed paces that would be expected of it in the NX-2 nuclear powered bomber demonstrator (35,000 feet and Mach 0.8). This configuration would be capable of sustained nuclear flight.
Another configuration would have a second XNJ140E-1 nuclear turbojet on the other side of the fuselage, and only four J57’s. This aircraft would be capable of pure nuclear flight from takeoff to landing, with the J57’s as emergency backup.
Approximate isodose lines around the nuclear B-52G in powered flight
Dec 162012
Forthcoming sci-fi flicks.
Pacific Rim: A dimensional rift at the bottom of the Pacific is letting Giant Monsters From Beyond onto the surface of the Earth. How to fight them? Giant robots, of course. A truly silly premise, straight out of 1960’s Japanese animation, but since it’s being helmed by Guillermo Del Toro (“Hellboy”), I ain’t voting against it being far more awesome than it has any right to be.
[youtube K-ZcqwvQbas]
After Earth: Will Smith and his son (played by Will Smiths son) crash land on Earth. Apparently humans have abandoned Earth at this point, and the ecosystem has gone bugnuts and turned kinda dangerous.
[youtube CZIt20emgLY]
Oblivion: Aliens attacked Earth and apparently trashed the joint. Sixty years later: apparently humans have abandoned Earth at this point, and the ecosystem has gone bugnuts and turned kinda dangerous.
[youtube XmIIgE7eSak&NR]
Oz The Great And Powerful: A Disney take on a flim-flam man from Kansas who gets sent to Oz and apparently takes over the joint. It actually looks pretty good, though not, obviously, a sci-fi flick. Of course, if you have a fantasy realm with evil, magical villains… what better foe than a con man?
[youtube LEF-v0RP2J8]
Warm Bodies: Because, you know, zombies.
[youtube 07s-cNFffDM]
World War Z: Because, you know, zombies.
This *should* have been the ultimate zombie movie, but it’s clear that the makers have *really* mangled the plot. Still looks fairly good, though.
[youtube Md6Dvxdr0AQ]
Dark Skies: Apparently no relation to the 1990’s TV series, apart from dealing with alien abduction. Perhaps oddly, it seems to be done for horrific effect rather than as a screwball buddy comedy.
[youtube K8iLp1xQtPQ]
Dec 152012
Thinking the Unthinkable
Where an “Anarchist Soccer Mom” describes her 9-year-old son. Her *violent* 9-year-old son. Her *terrifying* 9-year-old son.
When you look at the history of mass murders, what do you see? If you’re in the government or on the left, you probably see inanimate hunks of metal that Must Be Banned. If you live in reality, you see whackjobs. Whackjobs who not only shouldn’t have had guns, but probably shouldn’t have been wandering around without a leash in the first place. The kid described in the piece linked above stands every chance of turning into yet another murderous psycho as an adult. So… what do you do with him and his ilk? “Lock ’em away in the looneybin” is crude and unfriendly… but it might be the best solution for society as a whole.
If the choice comes down to restricting the rights of a hundred million regular folks with guns (while making the problem of violent crime *worse,* growing the power of the federal government and risking tearing the nation apart into another civil war), or restricting the rights of hundreds of thousands or maybe a few million violent nutjobs… neither is good, but one is clearly less-horrible than the other.